Miami Heat trying to work around Mike Bibby's defense

It isn't exactly witness protection, but figure on the Miami Heat spending plenty of time hiding Mike Bibby in coming weeks.

For all Bibby has done to spark the Heat's offense since his acquisition earlier this month, the defensive end of the court remains an ongoing adjustment.

Wednesday, in the Heat's 100-94 road victory over the Detroit Pistons, Bibby was constantly targeted defensively.

While the Heat used a late 15-0 rally, a surge that came with Bibby on the bench, to pull out their sixth victory in the last seven games, the Heat were outscored by 13 points when Bibby was on the floor.

As a matter of perspective, the next-worst plus-minus ratings for the Heat were a pair of minus-six finishes for centers Erik Dampier and Joel Anthony.

Wednesday was Bibby's first start in his 11 appearances with the Heat. He did, however, play starter's minutes in Saturday's' 103-98 victory over the Denver Nuggets, when Mario Chalmers went out in the first quarter with the sprained right knee that is expected to have him out one to two weeks. Bibby finished minus-four in that game.

"I'm not panicked about it," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He had some good defensive possessions in there. A lot of those things were in the post, which is something we can adapt to and take the ball out, if we need to, on traps.

"We'll see how it develops. He's a crafty player. He can fit into our defensive system."

Defense at point guard has been an ongoing concern this season, whether it has been Chalmers, Carlos Arroyo or Bibby starting. LeBron James often has had to take the challenge, which again could be the case at times Friday against Jrue Holiday when the surging Philadelphia 76ers visit AmericanAirlines Arena.

"I think we'll be fine as we move forward," Spoelstra said. "We've faced a lot of different things this season. We've been able to adapt. And, again, it doesn't really have to do with any of that, but more our activity, our disposition, our energy.

"We can do a better job team-wise."

Bench boost

With Chalmers sidelined, it has allowed Spoelstra to explore alternate perimeter-scoring options.

Wednesday, that meant 13 points from reserve forward Mike Miller, his highest-scoring game since Feb. 11, and nine from reserve forward James Jones, with the two playing in tandem at times.

"We want them to have their confidence," James said, "because when our bench plays well, when our role players play well, we're very hard to beat.

"When they put pressure on the defense, it makes it easier on everybody else."

Miller's eight shots matched his high since his 16-point performance Feb. 11 in Detroit.

"If Mike gets eight to 10 shots in a particular game, it's likely he'll be 50 percent," Spoelstra said, with Miller 4 of 8 Wednesday. "If a guy only gets two or three shots, you can't judge whether the ball is going in or not. They need more of a sample size."

Spoelstra said he liked how the lineup with Miller and Jones opened the lane for the team's penetrators.

"We were able to get our attackers into the paint," he said. "We were able to get some catches in the paint. We didn't necessarily finish the way we're capable of, but that's what those guys bring to the table."

James said he saw a more aggressive Miller.

"Mike drove to the lane a couple of times and those guys were just aggressive," he said.

New balance

The Heat will face a team rich on balance Friday. The 76ers have had seven players score 10 or more points 13 times this season, including Wednesday's against the Atlanta Hawks, easily the highest such total in the league. Next highest are the Magic, with seven such games.